Al-W¥^idÏ's Asb¥b al-Nuz‰l - The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies ...

Chapter 4: Surah al-Nisa’
in idols and false deities), meaning Ka‘b an his companions”.
(and he whom Allah hath cursed, thou (O Muhammad) wilt find for him no helper…) [4:52].
Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Muqri’ informed us> Sufyan ibn Muhammad> Makki ibn ‘Abdan> Abu’l-Azhar>
Rawh> Sa‘id>> Qatadah who said: “This verse was revealed about Ka‘b ibn al-Ashraf and Huyayy ibn
Akhtab, two Jews from Banu’l-Nadir, who met the people of Quraysh in the season of pilgrimage and
were asked by the idolaters: ‘Who is more guided to the way of the truth us or Muhammad For we are
the custodians of the Sacred Precinct, we provide water for the pilgrims and we are the inhabitants of
the Sacred Precinct’. They said: ‘No indeed, you are more guided than Muhammad’. They said this while
knowing very well they were lying. And so Allah, exalted is He, revealed (Those are they whom Allah
hath cursed, and he whom Allah hath cursed, thou (O Muhammad) wilt find for him no helper). When
they went back to their people, the latter told them: ‘Muhammad claims that such-and-such was revealed
about you’. They said: ‘He has said the truth. By Allah, the hatred and resentful envy that we have for him
drove us to do so’ ”.
(Lo! Allah commandeth you that ye restore deposits to their owners…) [4:58].
This verse was revealed about ‘Uthman ibn Talhah al-Hajabi, from the Banu ‘Abd al-Dar. This man was
the caretaker of the Ka‘bah. When the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, entered
Mecca upon its conquest. ‘Uthman rushed to lock the door of the Sacred House and climbed up to its
roof. When the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, asked for the key, he was told
that ‘Uthman had it. And when he asked him for it, ‘Uthman refused to give him the key, saying: “If I
knew that he was the Messenger of Allah, I would not refuse to give him the key”. ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib then
twisted the hand of ‘Uthman and took the key from him and opened the door of the Ka‘bah. The Messenger
of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, entered the House and performed inside it two units
of prayers. When he came out, al-‘Abbas asked for the key of the Ka‘bah, so that he could combine the
duty of giving water to the pilgrims and that of caretaker of the Sacred House. But Allah, exalted is He,
revealed this verse, and the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, commanded ‘Ali
to give the key back to ‘Uthman and apologize to him, and so he did. ‘Uthman said to him: “O ‘Ali, you
forced and hurt me, and now you come to apologize”. ‘Ali said to him: “Allah, exalted is He, has revealed
this verse about you”, and he recited it to him. Upon hearing, ‘Uthman said: “I bear witness that Muhammad
is the Messenger of Allah”. Gabriel, peace be upon him, then came and said: “As long as this House
stands, its key and the duty of taking care of it will stay in the progeny of ‘Uthman”, and so it is up to this
day. 24
Abu Hassan al-Muzakki informed us> Harun ibn Muhammad al-Istrabadhi> Abu Muhammad al-
Khuza‘i> Abu’l-Walid al-Azraqi> his grandfather> Sufyan> Sa‘id ibn Salim> Ibn Jurayj> Mujahid regarding
the words of Allah, exalted is He (Lo! Allah commandeth you that ye restore deposits to their
owners…): “This verse was revealed about ‘Uthman ibn Talhah. The Prophet, Allah bless him and give
him peace, collected from him the key of the Ka‘bah upon the conquest of Mecca. He entered inside it
and then came out reciting this verse. He then called ‘Uthman and handed the key over to him. He said
to him: ‘Take the key, O household of Talhah, a trust from Allah, none but transgressor will take it from
you’ ”. 25
Abu’l-Nasr al-Mihrajani informed us> ‘Ubayd Allah ibn Muhammad al-Zahid> Abu’l-Qasim al-Muqri’>
Ahmad ibn Zuhayr> Mus‘ab> Shaybah ibn ‘Uthman ibn Abi Talhah who said: “The Prophet, Allah bless
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Ibn Hajar reported in al-Isabah that ‘Uthman had embraced Islam after the treaty of Hudaybiyyah and migrated with Khalid ibn
al-Walid. He then accompanied the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, in the conquest of Mecca whereupon he gave
him the key to the Sacred House. Cf. Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani, al-Isabah fi Tamyiz al-Sahabah, Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut,
1995 (8 volumes), :373.
25
Durr, :570-571; Tabari, :145.
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